More to do for the young woman in East St. And I’m glad to see that. He was nominally a Muslim since there were a number of Muslims in the village where he was born. It’s not consistent with our traditions of justice and fairness. It’s a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours – a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot. Let me also address the issue of Iraq.

But it also comes from my own American story. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. We are the party of Roosevelt. They could’ve been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. On science and technology, we will launch a new fund to support technological development in Muslim-majority countries, and to help transfer ideas to the marketplace so they can create jobs.

Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can’t teach our kids to learn – they know that parents have to teach, that children can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. And we cannot ignore the very real concerns of Americans who are not worried about illegal immigration because they are racist or xenophobic, but because they fear it will result in lower wages when they’re already struggling to raise their families. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them.

They cheered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial when Dr. But we also know that government initiatives are not enough. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. He simply says to everyone in the room, “I am here because of Ashley.” That’s why I stand here tonight. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third.

This is a problem that’s brought together churches and synagogues and mosques and people of all faiths as part of a grassroots movement. These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead; and if we understand that the challenges we face are shared, and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.